A Fantasy Tree was here.
That was the only thought that remained in Ritsuka's mind, as he was carried by Mash towards safety. Only now, as he looked behind them, could he see the ominous mark of a Lostbelt in the horizon, completely ignoring their pursuers. His mind raced as he bit his lip.
Again. He would have to destroy an entire world again. The people within, may they be happy or sad, would be erased. He glanced at Amako, breathing heavily as they outran the horses, somehow. Pain flared up in his heart, imagining that smile she gave them to disappear alongside this world. Taking a deep breath, he shifted his focus towards something else. He blinked, seeing at the way Amako moved. Something about the way she walked and breathed seemed odd to Ritsuka. It didn't seem like she was leaving any footprints whatsoever. As far as he knew, she was human, yet her abilities suggested otherwise. Were all magi like that? He shook his head. He could ask later. About her and the tree. For now, he couldn't afford to distract Mash and their benefactor.
Eventually, they managed to shake off their pursuers. Still, it wasn't for long. Amako said as much, having lead them to a humble village. Old memories resurfaced and Ritsuka wasn't quite sure he wanted to do this. But before he could even object, they were already pushed towards a trapdoor, hidden under hay.
"Thanks for hiding us!" Amako shouted, saluting at the farmers. The old man in front of them chuckled in response.
"Anything for the Takeda clan!"
With that said, the door closed, leaving the trio in the dark. For a while, they were silent. Then, with a small giggle, a candle was lit, illuminating their benefactor's face. With a wide grin, she pointed at herself, her voice an excited whisper.
"Amako Seiryu! Pleasure to meet ya!"
The two couldn't help but share the cheerfulness of the girl. Huddling together, trying to stay as quiet as possible, they gestured towards themselves.
"Ritsuka Fujimaru."
"Mash Kyrielight. You are with the Takeda Clan?"
The girl in question nodded, lifting her cloak up a bit to show her back. Indeed, there were the four black squares that Ritsuka saw in the history books. Turning back around, she sheepishly scratched the back of her head.
"We like to call ourselves the rebels. Fits more," Then, with a frown, she crossed her arms. "Probably realized the Shogun ain't no good, huh?"
"It was suspicious, yes," Ritsuka said with a shrug. Amako in turn hummed, before frowning at them.
"See, that's what I don't get." She twirled her hands at them. "Why don't you know about... anything?"
They shared a look and nodded at each other. No use lying. Mash was already so out of place, they would need a skill like Incitement to get away with denying the obvious. So in the end, he shrugged nonchalantly.
"We're outsiders."
Amako let out a gasp, her eyes wide. Then, barely able to suppress her giddy laugh, she grabbed Ritsuka's hands and began to shake them up and down.
"Iknewitiknewitiknewit!"
The two Chaldeans were taken aback by her raw excitement. Her eyes sparkled, hopeful and curious as she leaned close in, her face almost touching Ritsuka's. He noticed with a blush how Mash pouted, but he couldn't focus on her, instead getting bombarded by Amako's whispers-
"From beyond the storm of Susanoo? The one that separates us from going further into the ocean?! Is that where you get those weird clothes from?!" He weakly nodded before she covered her mouth, trying to keep the squeal from reaching the heavens themselves. "Ohboyohboyohboy! You gotta tell me more about what's out there! We barely have any stories, if at all! Been like 400 years after all!"
400 years? Ritsuka did the math. The start of the 17th century. Or more specifically, as this was Japan... the end phase of the Sengoku Era. For once, he was more than aware of the history he was in right now. So whatever changed the course of history towards this Lostbelt, had to happen around that time. Still... he hummed in thought. A lot of things happened during that time. Depending when exactly it happened, it could've have something to do with Nobunaga during her life, her "successors" and everyone else that lived at the time. Too many variables and not enough information to make sure what the change was.
Switching tracks, he grinned at Amako's enthusiasm and nodded. Sharing things about his history always felt nice. It certainly made sure he wouldn't forget the old world so quickly.
"Sure thing!"
The girl clapped her hands before turning to Mash as she crawled forward, like a curious animal. The Shielder spluttered at the attention, backing away as she nervously glanced at her master.
"Are... are you a Westerner, Mashu?"
"You could say that. I was... born in Antarctica," she replied slowly. In response, Amako tilted her head in confusion.
"Ant... what?"
They both blinked. Right. She would have no context for the word. Mash licked her lips, thoughtfully, before a soft smile appeared on her face as she recalled the memories of Chaldea.
"It's located far in the South. The mountains and lands are all covered in snow. Even the ocean is frozen most of the time."
A sharp breath intake later and Amako began to roll on the ground, covering her face. When she somewhat calmed down, getting amused looks from them, she began to shake her fists in excitement.
"The ocean?! No way! I'd die to see that!" She didn't miss a beat to point at Mash's shield. "Is using a big shield like that normal over there too?!
"Uhm, no, I'm a... special case."
"Pff, aren't we all?" She waved Mash off dismissively. Then she glanced at Ritsuka, grinning with expectation. "And you? What kinda Martial Art do you use?"
Welp. That was awkward. Scratching his cheek, he laughed a bit before lowering his head, averting his gaze.
"Oh, uhm. I don't really... know how to fight."
"Really? Not even a little bit?"
Ritsuka licked his lips as he took massive damage to his pride as a man. Perhaps it was that reason that he puffed out his chest a bit and cleared his throat, trying to make his voice deeper.
"...I know some Pankration."
He ignored the judging look he received from Mash. What? He wasn't lying! He was bound to pick something up with all those heroes! But he felt he made a mistake when there was a certain glint in her eyes. He began to sweat when she cracked her neck with a smirk.
"Sounds awesome!" She paused, her smirk still in place, before tilting her head. "What's that?"
"It's essentially Greek wrestling. Uhm, western wrestling."
"Like sumo?"
He pressed his lips together in thought. He wasn't that well versed in martial arts to properly explain the finer differences beyond the usual words you'd hear in daily life. So in the end, he could only shrug helplessly.
"Not exactly."
At least Amako didn't seem to mind his lack of knowledge, instead humming in thought as she rubbed her chin.
"Hm. Wrestling. Interesting. More of a Okinawa Style user myself." Chuckling, she raised her thumb at Ritsuka. " Lookin' forward to sharing some notes though!"
He pointedly ignored the way Mash clapped her hands together and solemnly closed her eyes. He survived the meat heads of CHaldea well enough, he wasn't about to break his winning spree just yet.
Unfortunately, the good mood had to come to an end eventually. He didn't know how long they were down here, waiting to make sure that they would shake off their pursuers. However, it didn't matter.
Their pursuers were here. And the screaming with them.
"Senpai, they are-!"
In that second, in which Mash was standing up and turning towards Ritsuka, Amako already moved. Her cloak seemed to take on more solid form. A dragon head morphed from the hood, covering her head as the rest of the scales became like a second, dragon like skin on the rest of her body. She glowed in a blue light before crashing through the trap door. Immediately after, shouts and screams intensified. Dazed for just a moment, Mash gathered her wits again and carried Ritsuka up as well.
He almost wished she didn't.
First thing he saw were the villagers. Some of them, huddled together, pressing themselves collectively against a wall. The rest? He saw a lot of things. But it didn't made it any easier. It was torture. Plain and simple. Hot anger filled Ritsuka's chest, a feeling shared with Mash, who immediately rushed forward to hit the soldiers with her shield, sending them flying.
Yet they didn't cry out in pain. It was like they didn't care, about the bruises and even broken bones. As Mash covered him, knocking her opponents away, his eyes wandered to Amako. And he could only describe her as an arrow. Her movements reminded him a lot of karate, combined with Bajiquan. Following a straight line with explosive speed, she literally cut through her opponents, her straight hands acting like blades. Blood spilled everywhere and he could tell that every strike was carefully chosen for maximum killing power. As if sensing his question, about why she was like that, how bad this world could be that she was so willing to kill, she turned to them, at the same time using the force of her spin to kick someone's head. Her eyes, through the head of the Eastern dragon focused on them with only a moment of confusion before realization settled in.
"You need to crush their skulls! Only way they'll stay down for a while!"
Ritsuka glanced at the bodies that she created. Sure enough, they actually seemed to turn into black ash for some reason. Realizing there was no other way, Mash put her back into her strikes, blood seeping into the ground. Still, the numbers were greater than before. They were starting to surround them, keeping Amako and Mash at bay with arrows. To his horror, some of the soldiers leered at the villagers, moving towards them. Damn i-
"Oi, master, duck."
He didn't hesitate. Mash did neither. Amako followed their lead even without knowing that voice. The soldiers moved too late. Before they could react, bullets, fueled by magic and propelled by muskets, pierced them through their heads. In that same moment, a white figure blurred and weaved through the attacks and the soldiers, cutting away at them. It lasted less than a few seconds, before they all turned to ash. And in the middle of it?
The black haired girl tapped her musket on her shoulder, tipping her hat at her master. Meanwhile the other girl pulled her hood down, spinning her glaive before letting it disappear. The two looked at each other, a smug expression on their faces.
"I got more."
"Please, I gave you some pity kills."
Ritsuka brightened up, running up to them.
"Nobu! Kagetora!"
"Yo!" Nobu said, raising her hand as she let the musket disappear. With a chuckle, she jabbed a thumb at herself. "Guys back home worked pretty fast, what with experience and all!"
"And we had synergy to this place, according to them, so it was easier to send us both!" Kagetora added with a giggle.
Ritsuka could see that and man, was he glad for that. As much as they would fool around, they were excellent servants. Nobunaga especially was easy on his meager mana reserves and could cover long distance issues. With Kagetora at the front, they had a strong line up with that. Though he was a bit worried about them in terms of... teamwork, as he saw them glare at each other, their fake smiles in place. But before they could escalate, someone intervened.
"...Nobunaga Oda? Kagetora... Nagao... ?"
The words were whispered in utter disbelief. The two turned to Amako, whose dragon armor returned to being a scale cloak. She was utterly pale, as she pointed at the two of them. The two shared a look... before preening with pride. Mirroring each other, they put their hands on their hips, smugness radiating from them.
"Heh, recognize us, girl?"
"You're pretty good~!" Kagetora nodded in approval. "Perfect Walking and Breathing!"
Ritsuka blinked. He could hear the capitalization in those words. Crossing his arms, he turned to Mash with a raised eyebrow.
"Walking and Breathing?"
"It's a magi concept in the East, senpai," she began to explain, lowering her shield and dusting herself off. "It is said one becomes a living magic circuit. Essentially, one very movements can cast magecraft. Not to mention the efficiency of one's body increases."
"You mean how certain people can exorcise ghosts with just a clap?" He asked, remembering those kinds of stories from his childhood. Mash nodded before turning to look at Amako, her expression in awe.
"It usually is the mark of a one in a life time genius, if they were born with it."
Ritsuka whistled. That was impressive. Now he had to wonder how she might match up to Team A, a group that could be considered to be filled with geniuses. Though if she heard the compliment, she didn't react to it.
"How... ?" She trailed off before she exploded, grabbing her hair in utter confusion. "You-you two killed each other! L-Lord Takeda himself said so, 400 years ago!"
Their eyes widened. Even Kagetora's smile almost seemed to vanish. And Ritsuka couldn't blame them. A mutual kill was not the cause of their deaths respectively as far as he knew. Not to mention 'Lord Takeda'. From the sounds of it, he was around when they were alive. Which meant... He shared a shocked look with Mash. Shingen Takeda was still alive?! How?!
Slowly, both summoned warlords managed to regain their wits. Chuckling, they looked at each other, grins wide.
"Hah, I told ya I could kill you!"
"Pah. I'm sure I killed you first," Kagetora countered, crossing her arms. Nobu in return waved her off with a scoff.
"Pff, I totally shot a bullet through your face first!"
At the sight, something seemed to break in Amako. Snapping her head towards Ritsuka, her face was settled in an absolute death glare, showing absolute no tolerance for bullshit.
"What the heck is going on?!"
Mash took a step forward, protectively holding an arm in front of her master.
"Don't worry! They are on our side!" She quickly said, trying to placate her. Clearing her throat, she continued on. "Chaldea, uhm, our organization, summoned them!"
For a moment, Ritsuka feared Amako would react violently to such an idea. Her eyes seemed blank as she processed the words. Then, to his surprise, she hit her fist into her palm, understanding dawning on her face.
"Ohhh, spiritual summoning! Got it!" She crossed her arms, glancing at the two spirits in question in awe. "Kinda advanced from what I can tell, but hey, I can believe it if you got the resources!"
Ritsuka couldn't help but gape. Mash wasn't any better. After a short while, watching Kagetora and Nobunaga debate over how their mutual death in this Lostbelt might have ended up, they closed their mouths.
"...It's kinda nice when someone understands what we're talking about," Mash muttered. Ritsuka shook his head with a sigh.
"I'm starting to believe she understands more than me."
"Ehehehe, don't flatter me! I'm a third rate magus at best!" Amako rolled her arm in demonstration, a small blush on her face. "Only good at punching stuff in the face!"
"But Mash called you a genius," Ritsuka said with a small frown. The girl froze for a moment, her face seemingly conflicted, before she lowered her head with a sigh.
"Well, I'm not."
"Humble type, ey?" Nobu asked over her shoulder. Amako jumped a bit, at the literal ghost from the past addressing her. With a snort, she scratched her arm with an uncomfortable expression.
"Realistic one. Being good at killing isn't what I call being a genius."
"Why not?"
... None of them could really say anything about that. Kagetora just looked too genuinely confused, her eyes blinking with curiosity as she smiled like always. Ritsuka cleared his throat, raising his hand as he did so.
"Let's not get off track too much." He glanced at the ashen remnants of their pursuers and licked his lips. "Why were they... like that?"
Amako in response crossed her arms and just looked at them. As if judging them, as her eyes ran over their bodies. Ritsuka felt a sense of deja vu, before she lowered her arms, an unreadable expression on her face as she did so.
"Huh. So you aren't affected then?" She asked quietly. Ritsuka felt a shiver down his spine. He did not like where this was going.
"By what?"
"The curse." He flinched, regretting that he was right. Mash gasped in shock, covering her mouth. Amako smiled sadly before shaking her head. "It's a long story. We should head back to base. Just know that those guys? We'll see them again."
"To base?"
"Yeah." She turned away from Ritsuka to look at the villagers. Bowing her head in apology, her voice softened up. "The offer goes to you too."
The old man from before sighed, glancing at the bodies of their villagers, having already turned to ash just like the one's who attacked them.
"We had this a long time coming…" He bowed down as well before biting his lip in thought. "We appreciate the offer and accept it with great gratitude."
Amako smiled brightly. Ritsuka however couldn't quite share that joy.
What the heck was wrong with this place?
/
The forest shook. The ground beneath was flattened, a perfect smooth earth spreading over the area. Yet, despite all logic saying otherwise, it was filled with life. Already, saplings were growing out, without disturbing the form of the earth. The air was filled with rich energy that spoke of harmony and focus, even if the shaking could destroy a mountain in time.
The masked shrine maiden moved smoothly over the ground. Then, at last, she reached the epicenter of the 'earthquakes', its actions rattling her very soul. Yet, perfectly disciplined, she kneeled in front of the massive figure, for that was the only way to describe them. She waited for him, to finish what he was doing. His leg was raised, pointed towards the sky. It was like he was doing a split, with the ground and heaven as his walls. Then, with a sharp exhale of air, the leg crashed down like thunder. Slowly breathing out, he moved up from his squat. Adjusting the loin cloth, the only clothing he had, he turned around. Scratching his top knot, he regarded the masked lady with a frown. Sighing, he reached for a simple robe hanging off the tree branches. As he began to clothe himself, his back turned to her, his deep voice rumbled in the forest.
"Hmph. So he is calling for my services now?"
"Indeed he is," she replied, voice reverring and respectful. The massive man cracked his neck before adjusting his outfit.
"Very well." He gave her a wry smirk. "It better be a good challenge."
She in turn remained silent.